The Background of White Noise

August 16th, 2010 by Graham Allen MBACP (Accred)

Having just finished an excellent book by Sue Gerhardt The Selfish Society - How we all forgot to love one another and made money instead it reminded me of the unique value of counselling and therapy.

Increasingly I believe that the nature of the therapy hour is cherished in many cases by clients. The reason for this is the absence of white noise that we find ourselves battling. Last weeks Guardian reports on sodcasting - effectively the background music coming from tinny mobile phones that increasingly blights public transport. How many of us reach for the radio first thing in the morning, or indeed wake up to it. Is the blanket of noise obliterating our ability to think things through, to be mindful, and to stay in the present. And what if the white noise continues to increase at its present rate?

Therefore the therapy hour offers a unique counterpoint which I think can enchant people. The opposite of the white noise - a quiet concentrated container with a counsellor giving undivided and undiluted attention. That process in itself would seem to be healing and opens new channels of communication which can get thwarted in the outside world.